The present invention relates to a kitchen utensil and, in particular, to a kitchen utensil comprising a receptacle and at least one handle connected to the receptacle.
A kitchen utensil such as, for example, a pan, used for cooking food generally has a long handle extending radially from a receptacle of the pan which holds the food.
A problem with kitchen utensils of this type is that they are extremely bulky. This means that large boxes have to be used for packaging them and it is quite difficult to arrange the pans in a dishwasher; moreover, the handle projecting from the receptacle takes up a considerable amount of space in kitchen cupboards and makes it extremely difficult to arrange the pans in an orderly manner.
A known solution consists of the use of a handle articulated to an upper edge of the receptacle of the pan. When the pan is not in use, the handle is pivoted about a horizontal axis until it is disposed inside the receptacle, thus reducing the space occupied by the pan.
A disadvantage of this known kitchen utensil is that the handle is not connected rigidly to the receptacle; this makes the pan extremely inconvenient and dangerous to use since accidental movements of the receptacle relative to the handle during the cooking of food may cause very hot substances, particularly liquids, to spill from the pan. Moreover, the handle closed inside the pan makes it difficult to stack several utensils vertically, for example in kitchen cupboards.
The object of the present invention is to prevent the aforementioned problems.
From U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,003 a kitchen utensil is known comprising a receptacle and one handle connected to the receptacle and formed by a first member and a second member, each member being articulated to the receptacle for pivoting between a rest position in which it is disposed with a free end in the vicinity of the receptacle and a working position in which the first and second members are joined together.
According to the invention, a kitchen utensil is provided as described with reference to said prior document U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,003, characterised in that said members are constituted by two portions of the handle obtained by dividing correspondingly at least a predominant part thereof, wherein in said working position said portions of the handle fit together at least partially and form a substantially unitary element firmly fixed to the receptacle and extending along a substantially longitudinal direction.